About Joanna Miller

Joanna Miller has spent her life sampling as many different kinds of food as she could get her hands on. As the youngest of three kids, she was the "Mikey" of the family, always game to try "new foods".

The enthusiasm of her parents waned, however, when they soon realized that this meant their stash of lox, pickled herring and unsweetened baking chocolate was not safe from their eight-year old daughter's exploring hands (and mouth.)

Though her educational and professional background is in Film, Communications and commercial photo production, she has never forsaken her original love of good-tastin' vittles. She is a weekly contributor to Sugar Savvy, a candy blog on carpe-cookie.com, (which includes her cookie blog, in addition to other writing samples, etc.). And when she's not writing about candy and cookies, she bores her friends and family by offering unsolicited opinions and recommendations on recipes, specialty grocery stores, bakeries and restaurants.

Note: Both of these businesses have now closed.
I recently commented, at length, about the absence of homemade ice cream in Portland. Apparently, somebody was paying attention. Some bodies, to be precise. Open just over 2 weeks, Little Red Bike Café is not only a super-duper cute and much-needed addition to N. … [Read more...]

Now Closed
I love Pasha.
Specifically, I love Pasha's lunch buffet.
This is why...
It's the middle of a hurried weekday. Usually, I graze intermittently to sustain my strength, but today I've been working and running around all morning and into the afternoon, and breakfast seems days ago. The noon hour has … [Read more...]

It's not like me to be so Johnny-on-the-spot when it comes to the new stuff in town. For example, I got to Clyde Common for the first time just last week (and really liked it, by the way. And the fact that we scored an extra dessert due to a mistake by the kitchen didn't make me cry, either.)
But in an … [Read more...]

(updated 6.2012)
There is a really good bakery just down the street from my house. The thing is, you’d never know it was there unless you were to go inside. You see, it’s not a bakery. It’s a coffee shop. But aside from croissants and scones brought in from Pearl Bakery, all of the items are made on site, daily. A … [Read more...]

<updated 5.12>
Baker and Spice is nowhere near my house, yet I seem to have developed quite a knack for inventing errands that take me to or near its Hillsdale location. "Ummmm… I need to go to Fred Meyer. Yes, the six other Fred Meyer stores closer to home were plumb out of tulip bulbs, so I had to cruise out … [Read more...]